Microsoft's Xbox 720 and Sony's PlayStation 4 are the two gaming consoles that have been heavily discussed on the Internet over the last few months.

Though both the companies had denied any such developments, gamers expected announcements of the devices at the CES 2012. However, no such announcements were made and now it is expected that official announcements will be made at the E3 2012.

Both PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 have to be launched at the same time if they want to stand any chance to outclass each other in the console market. The prices are expected to be high for a console that will deliver next-gen graphics and gameplay. However, both the companies have to play this card wisely as the price factor will have a major determining point in the popularity of the console. The same goes for the game and points achievements and the Live arena options.

Let's have quick look at what could be expected:

Processing Power: Though it is widely believed that the current PlayStation 3 has the edge over the Xbox 360 technically with processing power, graphical prowess and high-definition media via Blu-Ray drive, the next generation Xbox is expected to sport a more powerful processor with extreme graphics capability. According to a New Xbox 720 report, the new Xbox will feature an advanced Central Processing Unit with ground-breaking graphics. The current generation console sports a triple-cored 3.2 GHz processor, coupled with an exciting Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).

However, these specs have been countered by a report from PS4Playstation4.com report, saying Sony will add more SPEs (Synergistic Processing Elements) to the current amount of 8 SPEs which run at 3.2 GHz. Out of this, one is disabled for yield purposes and one for security purposes such as encryption and decryption of the hard drive in real time.

The cell in the PS3 has an overall performance of 204 GFLOPs (floating-point operation per second). It is believed that Sony will increase the current amount of 8 SPEs to 16 SPEs to provide optimal power to heat ratio, provided it is manufactured at 32nm. This will make it capable of consuming the same amount of energy as the 90nm Cell processor found in the 60/20GB PS3s.

It is expected that Microsoft may not choose to stick with IBM to deliver the device's processing power in the future for their new console and a new Fusion chip from AMD might replace it. To meet the fan expectations, Microsoft will surely have to bring in more horsepower to last for at least 10 years. This can be done with an enhanced CPU that will compliment the GPU to produce amazing visuals. Although no game has been declared for the new Xbox, it is believed that titles like "Halo 5" and "Gears of War 4" could become one of the first few games to arrive for the console.

Disc Format: Many believe that Sony will let to go its usual Blu-Ray and replace it with HVDs (Holographic Versatile Disc) though the HVD drives are too expensive and too big.

The new drives are expected to use a full 100GB disc with an advanced Blu-Ray drive for faster reading. The current PS3 has a 2x Blu-ray Disc, where 4x is the minimum to read a 100Gb disc. However, the average read speed nowadays is 8x and it is also relatively cheap. Hence it can be expected that the PS4 will have at least an 8x drive which reads at 36MB/s, and games will load much faster.

The 720, on the other hand, has an unusual rumor making rounds saying that the new console will use Cloud for storage which have been redirected from the fact that Steam has done so well on PC over the years. Now it is being thought if the 720 games will actually feature on a disc at all, or will be simply downloaded from Cloud whenever they will be required. Microsoft could also have opted for the traditional Blu-ray system hadn't it been already owned by rivals, Sony. Other sources have claimed that the future 720 games could also come as Flash drives.

Controller: With rumors making rounds, stories about the console controllers have also gained momentum over the months. Although nothing really is known about the PS4 controller or is too absurd to write about it, the 720 controllers have seen interesting rumors and stories making headlines. It is expected that the 720 controllers will be controlled purely by Kinect style motion sensors. This may sound absurd at the moment but could make a surprise entry with the 720. However, hopefully the traditional style controllers for both Sony and Microsoft will be around for a while.

USB connections: Like the controllers for Sony above, nothing really is known about the Xbox 720 USB connections while a little has been known about the PS4 USB connections. At least 2 to 4 USB 3.0 connections are expected that will back up 100GBs of install data, save data and applications that will take only half the normal time of transfer which can currently take up to 8 hours.

(These are all speculations based on what the consoles currently have and the latest technology that is available at the moment. Any further developments will be posted.)

As a few people mentioned, 3D has not gotten off like people expected. It is doing OK in theaters, but home entertainment, TV, and games haven't recieved it as well.

I was Manager of a theater when 3D got going and I thought it was going to be huge, and it has been in the movies, but it really hasn't gone places anywhere else.

Yeah, I think it is a total gimmick too. When I was a kid and something was in 3-D, it was like it came off the screen and right at you.

I don't go to the movies a lot, but last I did I took the wife and kids and everything was 3-D. We paid over the usual rip off price and it didn't seem like the 3-D I remembered, it was like a meh version. For like $15 each I sure expected more.

Then we went to look at TV's and they had all these 3-D TV's and I just knew it would invade the gaming world. I really hope not, or if it does it is an option because I would hate to see more expensive games for this latest gimmick.

Yeah, I think it is a total gimmick too. When I was a kid and something was in 3-D, it was like it came off the screen and right at you.

I don't go to the movies a lot, but last I did I took the wife and kids and everything was 3-D. We paid over the usual rip off price and it didn't seem like the 3-D I remembered, it was like a meh version. For like $15 each I sure expected more.

Then we went to look at TV's and they had all these 3-D TV's and I just knew it would invade the gaming world. I really hope not, or if it does it is an option because I would hate to see more expensive games for this latest gimmick.

3D is a huge gimmick and always has been. Obviously the movie companies and theaters love it because they can charge the surcharge and make more money off of you.

Everything ive read about 3D TV's is that to date its been a disappointment. Nobody wants to pay extra for it, wear the dorky glasses in their living rooms. Pluse, theres just not alot of 3D broadcast content out there.

Do we really need to see Modern Family, the Bachelor and Greys Anatomy in 3D???

I know but the games I play are still disk based. I don't do the downloadable shit. If they were to actually go all cloud I wouldn't even bother with them. Last thing I need is my bandwidth cap getting pulverized over games.

I know but the games I play are still disk based. I don't do the downloadable shit. If they were to actually go all cloud I wouldn't even bother with them. Last thing I need is my bandwidth cap getting pulverized over games.

Well, the cloud is more about access to apps and storage. You can download or load games from disc anytime. But they're offering the availability to store CONTENT (like saved games) in "the cloud".

It's not the optical drive they're looking to replace, it's the hard drive.

Well, the cloud is more about access to apps and storage. You can download or load games from disc anytime. But they're offering the availability to store CONTENT (like saved games) in "the cloud".

It's not the optical drive they're looking to replace, it's the hard drive.

Quote:

The 720, on the other hand, has an unusual rumor making rounds saying that the new console will use Cloud for storage which have been redirected from the fact that Steam has done so well on PC over the years. Now it is being thought if the 720 games will actually feature on a disc at all, or will be simply downloaded from Cloud whenever they will be required. Microsoft could also have opted for the traditional Blu-ray system hadn't it been already owned by rivals, Sony. Other sources have claimed that the future 720 games could also come as Flash drives.

If I have to download a 10gb game to play it I won't buy it. That feature is listed under the Disk Format segment.

You wouldn't download a 10GB game. The game would be streamed to you real-time in just the bits and pieces you need at the time.

Cloud storage means no hard drive - there's no place on your device to PUT a 10GB game.

10Gb in small bits you need at the time is stil 10Gb, though, is it not?

__________________
ZootedGranny:

"That's the reason my FFL team name is TrentGreenLeadBlock. When you see this mother****er coming around the corner on a block, put your children to bed and batten down the hatch on your girl's snatch, because the same power that destroys defenders can scar the minds of the youth and simultaneously impregnate any woman within sight, live or on television."

10Gb in small bits you need at the time is stil 10Gb, though, is it not?

Unless they use some type of temporary caching to disk (which I would think they would have to do just for performance reasons), it would likely end up being a whole lot MORE, because you'd ultimately load some portions more than once.

EDIT: Back to his original concern, though, his bandwidth cap may or may not be an issue. The point is that it wouldn't be 10GB all at once - it would be bits and pieces delivered over time. If his bandwidth cap is daily, it likely wouldn't be an issue. If his bandwidth gap is MONTHLY, he's going to have a big issue I would think.

10Gb in small bits you need at the time is stil 10Gb, though, is it not?

THIS is exactly what I am referring to. Guess I was being too complicated about it. The last thing I want is these companies going to complete cloud storage. I average 75gb per month already. factor in games I would easily exceed the 150 I am allowed. There is absolutely no reason to get rid of physical media for games. Now if they want to put the games on encrypted flash drives I'm fine with that but it it goes 100% cloud based they won't get my money. Now, when the ISPs stop bleeding people over bandwidth I might reconsider that stance but for now, NO WAY.

THIS is exactly what I am referring to. Guess I was being too complicated about it. The last thing I want is these companies going to complete cloud storage. I average 75gb per month already. factor in games I would easily exceed the 150 I am allowed. There is absolutely no reason to get rid of physical media for games. Now if they want to put the games on encrypted flash drives I'm fine with that but it it goes 100% cloud based they won't get my money. Now, when the ISPs stop bleeding people over bandwidth I might reconsider that stance but for now, NO WAY.

75Gb/mo? Jesus. No wonder they want to institute bandwidth caps.

__________________
ZootedGranny:

"That's the reason my FFL team name is TrentGreenLeadBlock. When you see this mother****er coming around the corner on a block, put your children to bed and batten down the hatch on your girl's snatch, because the same power that destroys defenders can scar the minds of the youth and simultaneously impregnate any woman within sight, live or on television."

THIS is exactly what I am referring to. Guess I was being too complicated about it. The last thing I want is these companies going to complete cloud storage. I average 75gb per month already. factor in games I would easily exceed the 150 I am allowed. There is absolutely no reason to get rid of physical media for games. Now if they want to put the games on encrypted flash drives I'm fine with that but it it goes 100% cloud based they won't get my money. Now, when the ISPs stop bleeding people over bandwidth I might reconsider that stance but for now, NO WAY.

I have news for you - EVERYTHING is moving towards the cloud. When Google first unveiled their operating system concept, it had NO local storage. Microsoft is gradually moving applications from the desktop OS to the cloud.

We're moving further and further into a realm where we, the consumer, do not and will not own content. We'll consume it on-demand, with permission from the actual owner/provider.